


Apples for Eternity

by LadyBrooke



Category: Arthurian Mythology
Genre: Difficult Decisions, F/F, Loyalty, Waiting for Arthur’s Return
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27516532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyBrooke/pseuds/LadyBrooke
Summary: Arthur slept, and Morgan was forced to wait for the day he awoke.Guinevere had to make a choice.
Relationships: Guinevere/Morgan le Fay
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17
Collections: Femslash Exchange 2020





	Apples for Eternity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [basketofnovas (slashmarks)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slashmarks/gifts).



Arthur finally had calmed, wounds beginning to heal as he relaxed into a sleep he would not wake from for centuries. Morgan pulled her hands back, watching the wounds carefully to check that they were not once more opening. They had opened earlier, Morgan frantically doing her best to force them to close before she had been able to relax when the spells had held. 

When after some moments there was no change, she stood from where she had knelt beside his resting place. Guinevere waited for her in the forest and no matter how much Morgan may have wished to avoid such a conversation, she would face it as they had faced all the harsh deeds of the past few years.

It was clear that Arthur would sleep until he was called to return, and Morgan would have to remain here to watch his sleep and ensure his healing endured until he was needed once more. But Guinevere was not needed for the same, and Morgan would not hold her to such bonds as fate had laid upon them if she desired some other end. 

Guinevere still sat in the clearing Morgan had left her in that morning, a hurried kiss between them as Morgan had followed the women carrying Arthur, hoping that it would not be too late.

“Arthur sleeps until the world needs him once more,” Morgan said, not waiting for any pleasantries to be exchanged. It would only hurt more if she gave them hope that could be snatched away soon. “I must wait for his return. It is yet unknown when he shall return, but it is likely to take centuries. You may return to your people, if you so wish.”

“Must you wait alone?” Guinevere asked, taking a step forward toward Morgan.

Morgan swallowed, forcing down the part of herself that wished to claim Guinevere and to bind her with magic to the isle as the isle itself had claimed Morgan as its own guardian. She reminded herself that Guinevere’s directness was one of the many things she loved, even when they had to face such problems. “No. There are ways for others to linger, and some of the other sorceresses have lived here for centuries drinking the waters that flow around the isle. The apples alone would let one linger for some time, for they grow in soil that draw from the healing water. But I could not ask that of you.”

Guinevere nodded. The look on her face was once again not what Morgan would have wished for, if she had allowed herself to wish for anything. But it was good to see that Guinevere was taking this as she took all serious matters, considering every aspect of it until she had made her decision.

“Why would you not wish me to join you?” Guinevere asked at last, her face settling back into a serene mask. 

“I would wish you to wait beside me,” Morgan said. “I wish for your company at all times. But centuries stretch before us, centuries in which I will be bound to this island and Arthur, waiting for him to awake and take his role once more. I can not guarantee when the end to such would come, and we would be free to once more work for our own ends.”

She left aside the other problems, that many had been driven to despair by such waiting and that others grew to loathe what tasks they had been given. Guinevere was able to see such outcomes for herself. 

“I know you wish always to solve things. You desire to change the world, and this is nothing but waiting for Arthur to return in the darkest days. Days we would watch, but be powerless to turn aside the forces that have caused such.” Morgan turned to flee, refusing to allow Guinevere to reassure her. “You must consider such before you decide to stay. I shall return this evening, after I have checked on Arthur.”

She did sit beside Arthur the rest of the day, mind half turned to his welfare and half still left behind in the forest. She resisted the urge to watch Guinevere through spells. Guinevere would know, had always known when Morgan watched her, though it had used to be a game between them and not a question of their future. 

It would be unfair to keep watching, especially if Guinevere had decided to leave to the edges of the forest and ask if a boat would bear her back to the kingdom she had left behind, so that she could do her best to guide the kingdom through what had occurred. Guinevere would be good at such work, at reminding the nobles and people that even with Arthur asleep, there was still good they could do in the world.

Guinevere deserved to have that chance, if she wished it, and Morgan would not stand in her way. 

Morgan’s thoughts continued to turn over the same repeated paths again and again, each time trying to decide, but reaching no true decision. And then it was evening, sun setting over the forest and shadows dancing on the walls of the cave Arthur laid in. When finally his face was lit only by the light of a flickering candle, Morgan stood and began the walk back to the clearing.

Morgan had not dared hope, but Guinevere still sat in the middle of the forest when she returned. Her head was turned towards the path Morgan had followed, though whether she had watched the entire day or had heard Morgan begin to return, Morgan was unsure.

“If you wish to return to your people, his rest has turned to one of peace. The boat will bear you back across the waters.” Morgan stepped closer, brushing the branches of the tree back.

Guinevere looked at her and then stood, brushing her skirt clean.

Morgan’s eyes were drawn by the sound of something hitting the ground. It seemed almost impossible, and yet her mind was drawn back to the words she had spoken earlier.

An apple core rolled across the ground until it rested under the shade of the tree of life, as Guinevere kissed her lover.

“I shall wait beside you. There are enough Knights of the Round Table still left to guide Arthur’s people for now.” Guinevere’s face was determined, even if sorrow still lingered behind her words. “If it is correct that we may do nothing, then I shall content myself with study and with wisdom, for Arthur shall need guidance when he rises again and then we shall be free to act. But I would stay with you, and love you, if this is to be your fate.”

Morgan did not argue. This was the Guinevere that had guided countless meetings with sharp words and sharper wit, and she would not be gainsaid now with her decision made.

Instead Morgan kissed her back, hoping she could feel the hope and relief that stretched between them. “We will have work to do when he awakens, if you are determined.”

Guinevere nodded, and then laughed. “And I suppose we shall finally have time for ourselves, as well.”

Morgan laughed too, a sound that echoed through the forest and back to the cave. “Yes, we shall. And I shall enjoy every moment of such time.”


End file.
